


Love You For a Lifetime

by Myshka



Series: A Small Eternity [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Engagement, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Chronic Illness, Mentions of terminal illness, Past Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Romance, mentions of foster care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 08:10:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16446077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myshka/pseuds/Myshka
Summary: Keith and Shiro are happy with their recent engagement, but they haven't had the chance to tell Krolia yet. Now that she's back, they finally have the chance to tell her, and it may just present Keith with the opportunity to learn a little more about what engagement means to both his mother and his fiance.





	Love You For a Lifetime

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to my previous fic "A Small Eternity". You may want to read that first before reading this to get the full picture, although if you don't want to do that, the only truly crucial information from that story is that Keith and Shiro are recently engaged. Please enjoy this sappy sequel to the sappy original!
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! I can also be reached on tumblr at malenkamyshka.

Keith stepped from his quarters on the Atlas, hair still wet from his post-training shower. Haggar’s fleet may have been defeated, but the war was far from over. There were still factions of the Empire that refused to concede defeat to the Coalition, and the amount of rebuilding required on liberated worlds was enormous. Even if that hadn’t been the case, Keith refused to allow himself to be in anything but peak fighting condition; preparation was key.

He smiled to himself as he headed in the direction of the lounge and didn’t try to hide the small spring in his step. He had received a notice upon returning to his room that the leaders of the Blade of Marmora had arrived. He could hardly wait to see Krolia again. He hadn’t had the opportunity to spend time with his mother since shortly after the battle with Haggar nearly two weeks ago and he missed her more than he wanted anyone but Shiro to know.

As he made his way through the halls, he passed a number of staff who gave him either respectful nods or fond, friendly smiles. That was new. He wasn’t used to people other than a very small circle of friends consisting entirely of Team Voltron and his mother liking him. He was certain it was mostly Shiro’s doing as his fiancé - he was using that word as much as possible to himself to try and get used to it. It still seemed unreal- seemed to spend an embarrassing amount of time talking Keith up to his staff. Keith couldn’t begin to count the number of times he overheard Shiro telling someone he worked with how amazing Keith was. To tell the truth, Keith wasn’t sure if he was more embarrassed for himself or for Shiro. He may have been a bit pleased too, but he would never let anyone, Shiro included, in on that secret.

He turned a corner, nearly running into someone coming the other way. He noticed the Marmora uniform immediately, and, looking up, confirmed it was indeed Krolia. A wide grin, showing off her sharp teeth, split her face in two and Keith mirrored her.

“Keith!” she wrapped her arms around him in one of her trademark painfully tight hugs, “I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you. I have missed you, kit.”

“I’ve missed you too, Mom,” Keith rasped, too elated to see his mother to bother trying to hide it. “How long ago did you get here?”

“Not long, a varga or less. We will debrief in a short while, but we could not do so without all commanders present.” She smiled at her son with pride. Keith’s lungs were grateful as she released him from her embrace.

“Got it. So we have some time to catch up before the debriefing then?”

Soft footsteps reached them from the hall behind Krolia. When they turned in their direction, they saw that the culprit was Shiro. Keith smiled, having not seen Shiro since that morning. He chanced a quick peek at Krolia’s expression, seeing a small smile gracing her face as well. She was nearly as fond of Shiro as he was, which was a relief considering he hadn’t had the opportunity to break the news of their engagement to her yet. It relieved him of a lot of pressure knowing his mother already liked his fiancé.

“Hello, Krolia,” Shiro’s voice was as polite as ever, but his cheeks were already pinkening and his back was somehow even straighter than usual. 

This always happened when he was in Krolia’s presence. Keith couldn’t fathom how Shiro could still get flustered around Keith’s mother when they had spent months travelling in deep space with one another and had since collaborated as part of the Galactic Coalition, but that was exactly the case. He was only thankful that Krolia already knew of Keith’s affection for him and liked him in her own right because Shiro’s awkwardness around her was incredible and legendary amongst the team. For her part, Krolia was mostly amused. In retrospect, with the knowledge that Shiro returned his feelings, Shiro’s behaviour around Krolia made much more sense, Keith admitted to himself.

“Hello, Shiro,” Krolia returned, kindly not drawing attention to Shiro’s clearly awkward posture.

To Keith’s shock, Shiro extended his hand for Krolia to shake. He hadn’t done that since one unforgettable morning two months into the trip back to Earth when he had chosen to greet Krolia that way in a fit of earnest floundering despite their months-long acquaintance. Keith expected Krolia, not ever the most socially graceful person, to question Shiro’s action, but instead she simply took his hand in a firm handshake.

“What is that on your finger, Shiro?” Krolia asked as her face grew curious. It was then that Keith realised that Shiro had extended his left hand to shake and that his entire countenance brightened.

Keith’s eyes widened. Of course. This was something else Shiro had been doing in the nearly one week since they had become officially engaged.

Shiro, always so reserved despite his apparent openness, never giving away any private information to others, had been taking every opportunity to draw people’s attention to his engagement ring. To most people, it was never obvious he was doing so, and he likely would have denied it if anyone accused him of it, but to someone who knew him as well as Keith, it was apparent that he was positioning his hand to make sure others would notice the ring on his finger and ask about it. 

Two days ago, in a meeting with the council of a newly freed planet, Shiro had made sure to reach for his glass of water, his tablet, and anything else he might need with only his left hand despite having a fully functional prosthetic on his right that could reach much further. When one of the council members had mentioned the jewellery on his hand, he had explained what it meant, quietly pleased, not going into any more detail than necessary. Keith still knew what he was up to.

Yesterday, Keith had even caught him showing off the ring to Iverson, who had known about their engagement since they had announced it. One might not expect Iverson to be such a good sport having to hear Shiro practically gush about how wonderful Keith was yet again, but the man had been gracious, listening to Shiro’s spiel attentively, nodding in all the right places.

Now, Shiro looked prepared to launch into his speech again, but Keith interrupted him.

“Mom!” Keith staved Shiro off, “Shiro and I have something we need to tell you.”

Shiro looked surprised by Keith’s interjection, his pretty eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly open, but he stopped and allowed Keith to speak. When Keith reached his hand out to him, he took it and crossed to his side without protest.

Krolia stood there with raised eyebrows. Now that Keith had her attention, his stomach sank with nerves. This was a big announcement. Krolia may have liked Shiro a great deal, but she was still protective of her son. Keith ran his thumb over Shiro’s ring to calm himself. He knew his anxiety was wearing off on Shiro who had gone stiff beside him.

“So,” he stalled briefly, gathering his courage, “About one movement ago, I asked Shiro to marry me.” There. It was out. All that was left was for Krolia to react.

“I see,” Krolia said, thoughtful, “So, on Shiro’s finger, that would be an engagement ring then?”

Keith and Shiro both nodded, squeezing one another’s hand.

Krolia’s face broke into a beam and she laughed. “This is excellent news.” she said. Keith and Shiro’s astonished expressions must have been hilarious as Krolia laughed again, “I have been expecting this for some time.”

“Really?” Keith managed at last.

“Of course,” Krolia said, expression indulgent as she looked at her son and his fiancé, “I have seen how much affection you hold for Shiro, and how he returns it. In all the time I have spent with you, I have learned to read you and understand your thought processes and feelings, and all of you actions have told me how much love there is between you. To be truthful, I was beginning to be concerned that neither of you would ever broach the subject. I am very happy to be proven otherwise and to see you finally be honest of your feelings for one another.”

Looking at his mother’s gentle smile, Keith was nearly overwhelmed. In the deepest recesses of his mind, he had been concerned that Krolia might not take well to the news that he had started a new relationship and gotten engaged in the space of two weeks, even if the other half of that relationship was Shiro. It felt good knowing she approved.

“Thanks, Mom,” he said softly, “It’s important to me to know you’re okay with this.”

“How could I not be? It is obvious how much you love one another,” Krolia paused then, face scrunched up in thought. She reached to her chest, withdrawing a cord from her breastplate. It looked to be made of some type of leather, and at its centre there was a small gold ring. Keith had never seen it before and his heart leapt with curiosity. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Shiro tilt his head, clearly wondering the same thing as Keith.

“This is the ring your father gave me when we declared our love for one another,” Krolia said to Keith, “At the time, I did not know why he was giving me this as this, giving one another rings to wear on the fingers, is not a Galra custom. I was quite confused,” she laughed at the memory, loud enough that it echoed down the hall. “He explained to me the custom of one person giving a ring to another to signify the intention to marry, as well as the custom of exchanging rings once the marriage was made official. I told him I thought it was foolish. Why would wearing a small piece of metal on one’s finger be binding? Were not the peoples’ feelings for one another more important?” Krolia shook her head. Twenty-something years later, the concept was still foreign to her.

“He insisted on giving this to me anyway, saying it belonged to his grandmother before she passed away. Obviously, we were unable to announce our bonding officially as no one on Earth could know of my existence, but he still wanted something to signify his dedication to me. I was very moved by this, knowing that he wanted to pledge his connection to me for the rest of his life. No one had done such a thing for me before. It was far too small for my finger, so I put it on a cord around my neck.” Krolia’s face took on a melancholy cast as she recalled her lost love and her voice softened as she thought on the too-short time they had had together.

“I tried to give it back when I left. It wasn’t fair for me to wear this sign of his dedication to me when I was leaving him forever, but he wouldn’t allow it. He said that even if we never saw each other again, he would still love me and he wanted me to remember that.”

Krolia’s face, usually stoic, was unusually full of emotion as she turned the simple gold ring around in her hand. Keith’s heart ached for his mother, but he didn’t know what to say. Maybe it was better to say nothing and let her deal with the pain at her own pace.

Shiro let go of his hand and Keith blinked in surprise as he moved towards Krolia. As he reached her, he placed his flesh hand on the crux of her elbow. Shiro may have been tall, but Krolia was taller still, and he had to look up at her to catch her gaze. Keith waited for him to say something. Instead, they both stood there saying nothing for several moments. Keith knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of one of Shiro’s compassionate gazes. When Shiro looked at you like that, you knew he was offering you understanding, but you never felt like you were being pressed to say or do anything in turn. You could say nothing at all or spill all your secrets and Shiro wouldn’t judge you either way. Keith wasn’t surprised, then, to see his mother’s face clear after a few moments of this unspoken communication. Shiro had that effect on almost everyone.

“Now,” Krolia said at last, once she had gathered herself, “Why don’t you show me this ring my son has given you, Shiro. I would like to see what he chose.”

Shiro raised his hand up for Krolia to inspect.

“It is beautiful,” she said, tilting Shiro’s hand this way and that between her own, a pleased smile on her face, “Keith was clearly inspired by your appearance when he selected it. Its colours and construction are very reminiscent of you.”

“Thank you. It really is gorgeous,” Shiro said, and Keith was fairly certain he was doing his best not to brag judging by the way his shoulders straightened and his lips curved up, “Keith was really thoughtful when picking it out,” his expression grew contemplative, “I think he’s a lot like his father that way.”

“Yes. He certainly is,” when Krolia looked over at him, Keith thought he could detect a hint of pride in her eyes. He cleared his throat.

“So, are you guys done fawning over rings then?” he said in an attempt to stop his mother and fiancé from staring at him as though he were the most amazing thing they had ever seen. It was uncomfortable to be the centre of such intense attention and he felt the back of his neck grow hot.

“Yes, kit,” Krolia said with amusement, “It is nearly time for us to meet with the other Coalition leaders and I would like to take a few moments to refresh myself before joining them in the meeting room. If I still have access to the quarters I stayed in last time?” she directed this last towards Shiro.

“Of course,” he replied, “Those rooms are always yours if you want them.”

“Thank you. I will leave you now,” she placed a firm hand on each of their shoulders before striding in the direction of her rooms, “Congratulations on your engagement! There is nothing that could make me happier.”

As she turned the corner, Keith and Shiro turned to face one another.

“So, that went great!” Shiro said, a huge grin decorating his face.

“Yeah,” Keith let out a sigh.

“I know you were nervous, but I told you your mother would support you no matter what.”

“And I know you were worried my mom wouldn’t approve of you, but I told you she adored you more than anyone except me,” Keith retorted, “I’m just relieved that’s out of the way, you know? I’m sure she’ll have ideas about how the actual wedding should go, probably something about Galra traditions or something, but to be honest I’ll welcome any help we can get with that. I’m not really a party planner, as you know.”

“Yeah,” Shiro’s eyes had taken on a distant look as he twisted his ring around his finger. A cold lump settled in Keith’s stomach. It never boded well when Shiro got that look, as though he were hiding himself away bit by bit so no one could see how he was truly feeling.

“Hey,” Keith took Shiro’s hands in his own and trying to get a good look at his face, but Shiro’s gaze remained directed at his hands, “What’s wrong?” 

He expected Shiro to try and brush it off, but that isn’t what happened. Instead, Shiro’s shoulders fell in an inaudible sigh before he lifted his head to look Keith in the eye. His expression was troubled, causing Keith’s concern to grow.

“I’m okay, really,” Shiro’s words did nothing to ease Keith’s misgivings. Shiro had a history of brushing off things that were in fact a big deal as minor inconveniences. “I was just thinking about some of what your mom said, about no one wanting to do something like that for her before your Dad, you know? It’s something I understand.”

Keith had an idea of where this was going, and it wasn’t something he was sure he wanted to broach right now. But if Shiro wanted to wade into this murky topic, Keith wasn’t sure it was wise to put it off for fear of Shiro never wanting to discuss it again.

He thought back to one evening during his second year at the Garrison. He’d been a surprisingly bright student when he chose to apply himself, much to the surprise of most of his instructors, but he’d never expected to be accepted to study somewhere like the Garrison and so he’d been behind his peers in some of the advanced scientific disciplines cadets had been required to study. Keith may have been training to be a pilot, not an engineer or other scientist, but the Garrison had high standards and, if cadets ever had hope of making it into space, they needed to have a certain degree of knowledge regarding the scientific side of space travel. 

Thankfully, Keith had had Shiro on his side. Shiro would never allow Keith to fail without doing his best to help him and so had taken on the role of informal tutor for Keith when Keith needed help completing some of his homework assignments. Keith couldn’t have asked for a better tutor; Shiro had come in first amongst the pilot cadets in all aspects, including academics, when he graduated, and he was dedicated in his assistance to Keith, doing his best to be available whenever Keith needed him and checking in on how he was doing.

On this particular evening, he didn’t have a study session scheduled with Shiro, but he’d been having problems with a couple of questions on his most recent astrophysics assignment and he knew where Shiro and Adam’s quarters were located. Shiro had told him he was always welcome to drop by, and so Keith decided to take advantage of that and get some homework help.

A few minutes after he arrived and Shiro had agreed to help him, Adam had left to visit his brother who was in town for a couple of days.

“Alright, so what do you need help with?” Shiro said in his customary cheerful way. Ordinarily Keith would label someone with Shiro’s disposition a faker. No one could be so nice all the time, but with Shiro it was true. It always made Keith feel warm and important, like he actually mattered to someone and wasn’t just a deadweight dragging everyone else down with him.

Keith had showed Shiro the problems in question.

“Oh yeah, those ones are tough. Here, let me show you a video that might help,” Shiro had looked around for his tablet, but it was nowhere to be seen. After a few minutes of searching, he’d given up and grabbed Adam’s from where it was sitting on the coffee table. Upon opening the tablet and seeing the screen inside, Shiro’s expression had changed. His eyes had gone wide and his mouth hung open before he’d cupped both hands around it, hiding it from view.

Keith had been worried. What could be so awful that it would cause Shiro to look like that? Looking at the screen for himself, he’d been confused. There was nothing horrible on there. Rather, all that could be seen were images of a number of fancy-looking rings with what had seemed to teenage Keith to be exorbitant prices listed next to them.

It had taken Keith a few seconds to grasp what he was looking at: those were _engagement rings_. Adam was looking at engagement rings and Shiro hadn’t known about it. It took only a quick glance at Shiro to realise that that was a look of hopefulness blooming in his eyes. A bright blush was crossing his cheeks. He looked like he wanted to jump up and down and squeal, although Keith was sure Shiro would have been embarrassed to have that word applied to himself.

Suddenly, Shiro had gathered himself and cleared his throat, returning to his usual collected self before closing the tab and searching for the academic video he’d had in mind. They’d continued the study session as though they’d never seen the search, as though Keith had never seen this secret part of Shiro’s life and dreams.

After that night, Shiro hadn’t brought up the topic of what they’d seen on Adam’s tablet to him again and Keith hadn’t mentioned it either, but he knew Shiro must have been excited about the idea of Adam proposing if the euphoric expression Keith had seen on his face had been any indication.

Not quite two months later, Shiro told him the news. He and Adam were over.

Some days, Keith would see the distant, troubled look in Shiro’s eyes, but he hadn’t known how to bring it up. Shiro never cried on Keith’s shoulder and Keith never mentioned how he sometimes noticed Shiro’s eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. Instead, Shiro focused every ounce of his attention on preparing for the Kerberos mission and Keith did what he could to support him, wishing he could be there for Shiro in the face of his personal crisis, wishing Adam had never put Shiro in this position in the first place.

One week after the disastrous end to Shiro’s relationship, Keith had snuck out of the Garrison to spend the day in the nearby town and escape the stuffy rules and disapproving stares of somewhere he wasn’t wanted. The only person who wanted him there was Shiro, and he was too busy with the Kerberos preparations to always be there when Keith clashed with his fellow cadets or the Garrison authorities.

Walking down the main street, nearly abandoned at the height of the afternoon, enjoying the dry, dusty desert air and relentless sun, Keith had looked into the shop windows on his right. Through the large, clear picture windows of the jeweller’s he’d spotted Adam. He couldn’t hear what was being said as Adam placed a small velvet box with receipt on the counter, but he imagined the jeweller was asking what had happened; he couldn’t imagine what Adam was saying in response. It didn’t matter anyway- he had broken Shiro’s heart, and for that, Keith would never forgive him.

Turning back to the sidewalk and continuing on his way, all Keith had been able to see in his mind’s eye was Shiro’s pleased and blushing face as he tried to contain his joy upon discovering the search for engagement rings on Adam’s tablet. He thought of the little velvet box Adam had drawn from his pocket. He clenched his hands into fists.

He never told Shiro what he’d seen at the jeweller’s that day.

Now, Keith waited for Shiro to continue. He couldn’t rush him, had to let him get this out at his own pace.

“When I was a little kid,” Shiro began at a place Keith hadn’t expected, “I used to dream that one day I’d meet a handsome prince who would love me and want to marry me, like in the books I’d sometimes read. I was diagnosed with my illness when I was five, and my whole world changed after that. Before then, I’d just been a normal kid. Sure, I didn’t have any parents and spent my time in the foster system,” and Keith knew firsthand what that was like thanks to his own childhood, “but I wasn’t the only kid like that. There were other children going through what I was going through and even at that age, I understood that. But when I got sick… suddenly no one knew what to do with me. The foster family I was living with at the time didn’t know how to look after a sick kid, and they didn’t want the responsibility of taking care of me. I understand that somewhat better now, but at the time I didn’t get why me being sick meant they couldn’t love me. I felt betrayed.”

Keith had ample experience, starting from an early age, with being rejected by those he’d thought were supposed to be there for him. He’d reacted by becoming closed off and pushing others away so they could never get near enough to hurt him. He’d once thought Shiro had done the opposite, but as time progressed and their friendship deepened, it had become clear to him that Shiro had done the same thing in his own way. He was warm and friendly with everyone, but he let no one in to know his secrets or feelings, keeping the world at arm’s length, even if no one ever knew it. Still, some part of Shiro must have never stopped hoping, something Keith had learned not to do long ago, before he’d ever met Shiro, the person he would first begin to open up with.

“And I was scared of dying, even though I didn’t really understand what that meant at that age,” Shiro continued, “In my mind, where no one could see, I liked to imagine that one day I would meet someone who wouldn’t care that I wouldn’t be there forever, who would want to spend the rest of my life with me no matter how short it was. I knew it was selfish, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about it.”

Keith’s gut twisted in sympathetic anger. Shiro deserved someone who would stay by his side and love him unconditionally. It shouldn’t have been some pipe dream he thought he would never get to have.

“Shiro,” Keith broke in. This was too painful. He didn’t like thinking about Shiro alone, without anyone to hold him up when he couldn’t do it for himself.

“Please, Keith. Just let me say this,” Shiro pleaded with him. There was no way Keith could say no to Shiro’s fierce stubborn gaze, “Anyway, I told myself I wouldn’t let myself get caught up in ideas of romance. There were other things in life that I wanted to accomplish before I died. I wasn’t thinking of relationships at all when I met Adam, but as we got to know each other… well, I guess I started to fall in love. When he asked me out, I was so happy and I allowed myself to think about how much I wanted someone to love me despite everything and I said yes. When we saw the engagement rings on his tablet that night, you remember?” Of course Keith did. That image of Shiro, giddy and hopeful and so, so happy, only to be shattered by Adam’s loss, was lodged in his mind forever. He nodded. “I was so excited. It was finally going to happen. We’d been having problems lately, but seeing that search, I thought everything was going to be okay, that maybe I’d get something close to a happily ever after, after all. You know how that turned out.”

It was here that Keith finally noticed that Shiro was blinking away tears. His voice had been steady throughout his monologue, not a crack in sight, but it turned out he wasn’t as calm as he made out. Keith reached out to pull him in for a hug, but Shiro resisted, still having more to say.

“I guess what I’m trying to say, Keith, is that for almost my whole life, I’ve dreamed that someone would come along who would want to spend the rest of the time I have with me. I’ve been dreaming of being proposed to for a long, long time. I’m really lucky that person is you.”  
Shiro quit resisting Keith’s efforts to embrace him then and fell into his arms, chin resting on his shoulder. But he wasn’t done yet.

“That’s not the only reason I’m lucky, of course. It’s not just that you’re the only person who asked me to marry him even though I’m a complete disaster. Don’t argue!” he said fiercely when Keith opened his mouth to refute the idea that Shiro was a mess, “I’m so grateful that you’ve stuck by me even when logic dictates that you shouldn’t have. You are easily the most amazing, incredible person I’ve ever met and I’d have to be crazy to have said no when you proposed. I just wanted you to know that on top of that, you’ve also fulfilled my childish, childhood dream of being loved enough to have someone ask me to marry them.”

Keith was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He had already been sure of his desire to marry Shiro. This new information just strengthened his resolve to make Shiro feel cherished, make sure he knew he was precious and deserved to have someone love him.

“Takashi, I love you” Keith whispered, putting every ounce of commitment to Shiro he had into his words, “And I am so happy to know that I’m the one who gets to show you how beloved you are. You’re incredible and deserve to have someone who will never leave your side. I’m lucky to be able to give you this gift.”

“Well. You certainly know how to make a guy feel special,” Shiro’s voice sounded rough, but he was holding on to Keith too tight for Keith to check his face, “And just so you know? I have every intention of doing the same for you. Just give me a few dobashes to put myself back together.”

Keith’s only response was to pull back just enough to take Shiro’s face into his hands and kiss him gently, but with all the passion he could muster. Shiro’s lips were chapped after a busy day running the Atlas with no time to rest and Keith thought they were perfect. He thought he could do this forever, if only time would pass them by, leaving them to their little intimacies in peace.

“I’d propose to you every day if I could,” Keith said, half-teasing half-serious, when they eventually pulled away from each other’s lips.

“You can. I wouldn’t complain,” Shiro said with a straight face that only lasted a second before he grinned.

“Okay. But right now we should get to that meeting with the Blade. I’m sure there are a few people you’d like to show your ring off to that you haven’t had the chance to yet,” Keith turned in the direction of the conference rooms, offering his right arm to Shiro who, although he gave Keith a look of amusement, slipped his hand into the crook of it comfortably.

If Shiro wanted someone to sweep him off his feet with romance, Keith would do his best to give it to him.


End file.
